The deeper, personal music is a departure in the carefree, ‘bro-country’ era
commercial appeal with sonic creativity: “Vice” is a swampier-sounding song than her others, but contentwise, it’s not too different from her past hits about life’s obstacles. And most importantly, it’s likely to be a hit on country radio.
The single, co-written with Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne, harshly zeroes in on the narrator’s flaws. “Another vice, another call, another bed I shouldn’t crawl out of at 7 a.m. with shoes in my hand,” Lambert drawls over electric guitar. “If you need me, I’ll be where my reputation don’t precede me/Maybe I’m addicted to goodbyes.” Lambert gives no details about what parts relate to her life (though she hinted on Instagram she wrote tunes that helped her through dark places) leaving fans to speculate which elements are about Shelton.
She wrote on Instagram: “The last year of my life has been one of heartache and healing, … of learning to be honest. … Accepting the flaws and celebrating the smiles. Finding peace in dark places … having some moments alone with me. Facing fears and feelings. … All of them. I got to know my guitars … became friends with a pencil and paper. … Used melodies to lead me places I had never been. … Made music with my friends. Because music is medicine. This means the world to me. Thank you for joining me on this journey. #vice #musicismedicine “
On the opposite end, Nail is an open book on the autobiographical “Fighter,” which dropped in mid-July. It makes sense, because he’s been candid about everything from career struggles to being diagnosed with depression. For this record, Nail takes the time-honored tradition of releasing a more mainstream song as a single (the poppy “Night’s On Fire,” sitting in the Top 15 on radio) while getting real in a few intense album cuts. That includes the title track, an ode to his wife for staying strong through the years of infertility, as well as “Babies.”
“You were prayed about, all planned out, even had us a couple good names,” Nail sings. “After four hard years and no close calls and no one else to blame, I was going crazy.” The chorus ties the track together, as he reflects on the relief and joy of having twins: “So imagine when you get the news: After years of trying, not just one, but two.”
Adding to the power of Lambert and Nail’s confessionals is that they co-wrote the songs. Some artists sift through works by outside writers to find tracks that fit their mood. Jake Owen employed this tactic for his upcoming record “American Love” (out July 29); he co-wrote one of the 11 tracks. In March, Owen split from his wife, the mother of his 3-year-old daughter. While Owen said he wrote songs in the lonely aftermath, he shelved them in favor of feel-good, beach-vibe tunes (his status quo) written by top Nashville songwriters that represent optimism for the future.
Owen recently clarified to Taste of Country that the one mournful cheating song on the album, “When You Love Someone” (cowritten by Blair Daly, Hillary Lindsey and Sean McConnell), is not about his situation. (“When you love someone … you don’t get drunk at a bar, jump in a car, roll in the dark, and go too far with someone.”) He just liked the message of knowing true love when you find it. Instead, he reflected upon his former marriage through the album’s narrative, from reliving happier times to using escapist themes to recover.
In fact, when songwriters pitched him tunes about breakups, Owen declined. He points to “She’s Got A Way With Words,” Blake Shelton’s recent hit about a terrible ex. Originally, someone sent the song to Owen, but he wasn’t comfortable with the snarky lyrics: “If I record this song and I’m taken literally — I don’t want my ex to perceive I did that to her,” he told Taste of Country.
In some cases, singers turn to religion. Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum collaborated with her husband, parents and sister to produce “Love Remains” (July 29), a faithbased album of hymns and Christian songs, many of which were inspired by the passing of Scott’s grandfather in 2011.
Last fall, Scott, who has always talked about her religious faith, suffered a miscarriage. The song about the pain of her experience, called “Thy Will,” is the lead single from the project and currently at the top of the Christian songs chart. (“I don’t want to think, I may never understand/That my broken heart is a part of your plan.”) Like the rest of the singers facing dark times, she knew music was the way she could further heal.
“I wrote this song in the middle of experiencing everything that comes with a miscarriage,” Scott told “Good Morning America.” “So it was at my most raw place that I could have ever been when this song truly poured out of me.”